Vacation Memories

The last nine months have been particularly stressful and a vacation would hit the spot right about now. Alas, it will have to wait for a little while longer. Since I'm in a beachy frame of mind, I thought I'd share some photos from our beach trip last August.

We stayed at the Calypso in Panama City Beach, Florida. I chose these condos for their proximity to the fishing pier and to the shopping and restaurants at Pier Park. Within walking distance to both. This is a view of the pier from our room at sunset.

Much to my daughter's dismay, she is usually the subject of my photo taking. I love to catch her spontaneous expressions. And the beach made it all the more fun. For me. Not so much for her.

All of these pictures of the water were taken at St. Andrews State Park. We stopped there before we headed home, and oh, boy, did we ever want to stay a while longer. It was so inviting! I don't think I've seen it this blue and this clear in a very long time.

Not too far down the beach from the crystal clear water, this is what we saw. And it stunk, too. Fortunately, the wind must have been blowing in the opposite direction because we couldn't smell it at the clear end.

A view of the coastline from St. Andrews.

We enjoyed ice cream from the Pink Pelican. It's sort of become a tradition for us to visit them when we go to Panama City Beach.

We also played a serious game of put put golf at Pirate's Island...

...rode some go-carts...

...and ate out. A lot. I look pretty darn goofy in this picture, but I think my husband looks kind of like Sean Connery, so I thought I'd throw it in the mix. Such a handsome fella, he is.

All in all, it was a great trip and I'm more than ready to go back. My parents always took me to Panama City Beach as a kid, and I have so many fond memories there. I love it!

What an awesome God we have to give us such beautiful places to enjoy!

Blessings,

Summer Decorating

I've been aching to go to the beach lately. Being a redhead, it's something of a curse to love the beach as much as I do. Wish I had a nickle for every time someone said to me, "you'd have a good tan if all your freckles ran together." Oh, the mockery us redheads endure as children! There is actually some home video footage taken at the beach when I was around 8 years old wherein I was clothed in blue jeans and a long sleeve shirt. Complete with sunglasses and a ten gallon cowboy hat. My mother had obviously had enough sunburn drama to last her a while.

Anyway, in honor of summertime, I thought I'd share some of the summery decor around our house. It's not much, but it's mine. And it's paid for...

I copied this tray idea from a condo where my in-laws stayed when we went to the beach last year. I fell in love with it so much that I searched and searched for the exact tray until I finally found it at Target, of all places. The vase holding the candle came from Michael's. I filled it with genuine Panama City Beach sand, and shells, starfish, and sea glass from Pottery Barn. I actually like this display so much that I kept it out through the winter months, too.

A couple of years ago, my husband stopped at a yard sale to let me look (and I didn't even have to ask!) and I found this little roll-top desk. It was pretty sad and not really anything special. I'd been looking for something to to act as a vanity for this bare spot in the bathroom. I took her home (for $5!!) and gave her a makeover. Although it's relatively non-functional, it pretties up an otherwise useless space. I usually keep bath salts in that decanter, but looks like I'm out.

Not much is going on in the kitchen, summer-wise, except this bowl on our kitchen table that I filled with shells and driftwood.

Here's a side table in our living room. Trying to decide whether or not to paint it. For now, I'm liking the color of the wood. I've always thought that most everything looks better painted white, so who knows? Sorry about the glare.

I found the little fish plate at the local antique mall (or flea mall, as it's called) a few weeks ago, and they hydrangeas came from our yard.

My sister-in-law had this shadow box coffee table in a garage sale a few years ago and when it didn't sell, she let me have it. Being true to my instincts, I painted it white (Heirloom White) and lined it with burlap. I really had bigger plans for this table, but this is as far as I've gotten so far. It's filled with a few shells, driftwood, and a beach photo of my family. On top is one of my favorite summer decorations. I got these little jars from my mother-in-law, and the shells came from past trips to the beach. There are tea lights inside the jars, but they wouldn't stay lit for the picture. Sorry...that would have made for a better photo.

Finally, my little pewter seashell. I found it at the antique mall the day I found the fish plate. I was quite happy with my finds on that particular trip.

Wonder what my son will say when I tell him I need him to go to store for bath salts and tea lights?

I'm linking up with:
Thrifty Treasures@Southern Hospitality
DIY Project Parade@DIY Showoff
Sister Sunday@Sisters of the Wild West
Sunday Show-off@Twigg Studios
Spotlight Saturday@Classy Clutter

Blessings,